An Indian Abroad

For a person who loves her country, warts and all, going abroad and sampling different cultures is good as long as it is a time-bound experience.

Having been to different countries, I enjoyed the short stays as there was the comforting thought that I would be soon be back home with my loved ones. The familiar is not just about being in one's comfort zone but about security. In a foreign land, the familiar assumes another trait-it becomes a siren call, seductive and potent, pulling at one's heartstrings. The sights, smells and sounds of a land that defines every facet of an individual-that is the power and pull of the motherland.

While not being jingoistic, I realized that it is only in a foreign land does one realize the worth of one's identity. When I read the works of those uprooted from their homeland by wars, conflicts or natural calamities, I felt saddened by their plight. But now I get an inkling of their pain. This fleeting emotion that builds up over time provides the heart and soul of a movement for repatriation. However refined our senses might get with knowledge or philosophy, our connection to our homeland is organic and self-fulfilling.

One talks about the globalization of culture but this is a diffused notion. I might consider myself a cosmopolitan person but despite being familiar with the popular culture of a particular land, I would still feel like a fish out of water because my understanding of that culture is from a different reference point. People the world over are supposed to be similar in essence but we all think and act differently. Promoting cultural understanding can take one so far before our inherent belief system kicks in and starts conditioning our thought process. While the knowledge of a different culture can be gained from any part of the world, its understanding and expression is truly within the capacity of its own citizens.

More than assimilation or adaptation, tolerance and appreciation of cultural difference and difference in the mindset and behavior of people will lessen the chances of cultural misunderstanding. This is because we know that we don't know everything about the other person's culture despite having read about it or gained knowledge from second hand sources. Once we know this, we know we might make a mistake in interpretation of thoughts and actions. So we make allowances for mistakes from our side and become more tolerant of such from the side of the other.

I am now in a land that is the symbol of cultural amity and life opportunities. It is a 9 month stint and home is far not just in terms of miles. The land of my origin is alive because of the people who inhabit it. Home means family and friends. It is warmth, it is solace. The people of my homeland bring life and color to the country-they are what makes it such a land of vibrant possibilities. From the rich to the poor, the old to the young-we are an enterprising lot and our values hold us strong.

To be unified in diversity is not a cliche but an unparalleled accomplishment. The land allows many cultures to coexist but what unifies us is that despite our differences, we understand our particular cultures through a common frame of understanding-that is to be an Indian is to be hospitable to difference and accept it without demanding conformity.

I revel in this feeling that our identity is made of so many different constituents that it should not make us virulently communal. We are secular in the sense that our religion, our language, our region, our features may be different and being a part of so many differences means that we are loyal to our state identity first and foremost. I guess, this explains why India works.

So for the next few months, I will open myself up to the workings of a different land and hope that the openness of my land finds a resonance in my mind.